HGGundam Build Fighters Try

Portent Flyer

A cheap box of wings that turns into the best backpack upgrade in your parts bin.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Portent Flyer · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit for what it actually is, not what its box art implies.

This is not a mobile suit, it is a wing and blade option set that happens to also snap together into the Portent's own flight pack. On its own in a display case it is a strange little white shape, but as a customizing tool for your other HG kits it earns its shelf space fast. I would not buy it as a first kit or a centerpiece build, but as a second or third purchase for someone already deep into Gunpla, it delivers real value.

Best for: builders already customizing HG kits who want a cheap, adaptable wing and backpack set rather than a standalone mobile suit

The full review

What it is

The Portent Flyer is part of Bandai's HGBC (High Grade Build Custom) line, released in March 2015 as kit number 021, and it exists to be taken apart and reused. Inside the box are three runners of plain white plastic that build into four separate pairs of wing configurations plus an articulated joint and an adaptor plug, all sized to fit the standard 3mm pegs used across HG kits. Snap it together as the Portent's own flight pack and you get a passable, if plain, backpack unit. Split the parts up and plug them onto other Gundams and it becomes something more interesting, a wing swap kit you can mix and match across your whole shelf.

The catch

Everything on the runners is molded in the same flat white or pale grey, so straight out of the box the kit reads as a featureless mass of plastic with almost no color separation or panel definition. I would not build this without a panel liner or a paint pen on hand, because there is nothing else doing the visual work for you. The bird-style wing option also does not swing through its full articulation range at every angle, since the curved shape of those wings runs into itself before the joint maxes out. And because this is a support unit, not a full figure, there are no legs, torso, or head, so judged purely as a display piece it is thin.

Who it's for

Skip this one if you are new to the hobby or want a single kit that looks complete and impressive on its own, there are far better entry points for that. Pick it up if you already own a stack of HG kits and want a low-cost way to give one of them a dramatic new backpack or wing silhouette, because the pegs and adaptor genuinely do fit the wider HG ecosystem. It is also a fun pickup for anyone building the actual Gundam Portent from Gundam Build Fighters Try, since this is the direct source of its signature wings. Think of it less as a kit and more as a parts kit, and it makes a lot more sense.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

This is a fast build, three runners of simple snap-fit parts with clean gate placement that need only basic trimming, well within Skill Level 2. There is nothing fiddly about the assembly itself, the wings click onto their joint smoothly and the adaptor plug seats securely into a standard HG backpack socket, so if you have built any HG kit before this will feel familiar and quick.

The real engineering payoff is the modularity. The articulated joint lets the wings tilt and angle rather than sitting fixed, and the adaptor system means you are not locked into displaying this as its own unit, you can just as easily send the wings to a completely different Gundam on your shelf. Part count and price both stay low, which is the right call for what amounts to an accessory kit rather than a figure, but it does mean the value proposition depends entirely on whether you actually plan to use it that way.

Lore & trivia

01The Portent Flyer builds into the backpack and wing unit of the GNW-100P Gundam Portent, an original Gunpla piloted by Shia Kijima in Gundam Build Fighters Try.
02It was released in March 2015 as HGBC kit number 021, part of Bandai's High Grade Build Custom line built specifically around cross-kit customization.
03The kit's parts use the same 3mm peg standard found across most HG kits, so the wings and adaptor can be transplanted onto other Gundams outside the Portent itself.
04In the anime, the Gundam Portent's blade weapon is depicted using Plavsky particles to mimic the GN particle beam effects from Mobile Suit Gundam 00.